Do you not yet understand

In those days, when again a great crowd had gathered, and they had nothing to eat, he called his disciples to him and said to them, "I have compassion on the crowd, because they have been with me now three days and have nothing to eat.  And if I send them away hungry to their homes, they will faint on the way. And some of them have come from far away."  And his disciples answered him, "How can one feed these people with bread here in this desolate place?" And he asked them, "How many loaves do you have?" They said, "Seven." And he directed the crowd to sit down on the ground. And he took the seven loaves, and having given thanks, he broke them and gave them to his disciples to set before the people; and they set them before the crowd. And they had a few small fish. And having blessed them, he said that these also should be set before them. And they ate and were satisfied. And they took up the broken pieces left over, seven baskets full. And there were about four thousand people. And he sent them away. And immediately he got into the boat with his disciples and went to the district of Dalmanutha. The Pharisees came and began to argue with him, seeking from him a sign from heaven to test him. And he sighed deeply in his spirit and said, "Why does this generation seek a sign? Truly, I say to you, no sign will be given to this generation."  And he left them, got into the boat again, and went to the other side. Now they had forgotten to bring bread, and they had only one loaf with them in the boat. And he cautioned them, saying, "Watch out; beware of the leaven of the Pharisees and the leaven of Herod."  And they began discussing with one another the fact that they had no bread. And Jesus, aware of this, said to them, "Why are you discussing the fact that you have no bread? Do you not yet perceive or understand? Are your hearts hardened?  Having eyes do you not see, and having ears do you not hear? And do you not remember?  When I broke the five loaves for the five thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" They said to him, "Twelve." "And the seven for the four thousand, how many baskets full of broken pieces did you take up?" And they said to him, "Seven." And he said to them, "Do you not yet understand?" - Mark 8:1‭-‬21 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Struggles in grasping the reality of Jesus

The struggle of Forgetfulness

Jesus wanted to feed the crowd. The disciples said, how should we do this in such a desolate place? But this isn't the first time. Jesus has fed crowds before. How could the disciples have forgotten such a miraculous thing? But this is not just the disciples, it is also with us. We forget God and his lessons, even for those who grew up in the church. During times of crises, we forget how God has provided in the past. We are gripped by fear, anxiety, and panic because we forget God. Not only that, but we drift into becoming workaholics because we forget that we have a solid identity grounded in Christ.

The struggle of Stubbornness

The Pharisees rejected Jesus because because he didn't fit their categories. Jesus wasn't the Messiah they were looking for. So the Pharisees looked for everything to reject him. They looked for anything and everything to reject the Lordship of Jesus. The religious leaders had something to lose, if Jesus was who He said He was. They did not want Jesus to be Lord. They had already decided prior to examining the evidence. So it is with us, we often choose to believe or not because it supports what we desire. 

But it was not the irreligious, but rather the religious leaders who crucified Jesus. So how does it apply to the modern day? We, Christians, make arguments, make exceptions, come up with theologies that are more agreeable to us. If Jesus never offends, challenges, or disagrees with us, then perhaps we are not following Jesus. We are likely following an idol of our own making. Christians are called to take up their cross, love & pray for their enemies... This is not natural for us. Following Jesus will not come naturally 

The struggle of Dullness

Jesus tells them to beware of the the leaven of the Pharisees. The disciples then argue about bread and who's fault it was that they didn't bring enough bread. It was a failure to see spiritual realities. The disciples lived and walked with Jesus and still did not understand or see the spiritual realities. 

Leaven here is used to allude about the pervasive and negative effects of the Herodians. This was a warning to the small growing church to be on watch against the pride of the Pharisees. They tithed down to the herbs, but neglected justice and mercy. Is it not with many Christians today? Pharisees refused to eat with sinners, perhaps the original cancel culture. Just preach the gospel and don't mind this justice thing. But Jesus addressed this directly, we must pursue reconciliation, justice, and mercy in the light of the gospel. We must beware of how the religious leaders got caught up in theological minutae and neglected the pursuit of mercy & justice. We need both. 

Where does that leave us? 

We will struggle with all these things. So we must run to Jesus. Pray for hearts that remember and are convicted for the things of God. We need to ask for eyes to see and ears to hear. A church without the centrality of the gospel will only get lost in the world.

Mark 7: A Gentile Woman's Request

And from there he arose and went away to the region of Tyre and Sidon. And he entered a house and did not want anyone to know, yet he could not be hidden. But immediately a woman whose little daughter had an unclean spirit heard of him and came and fell down at his feet. Now the woman was a Gentile, a Syrophoenician by birth. And she begged him to cast the demon out of her daughter. And he said to her, "Let the children be fed first, for it is not right to take the children's bread and throw it to the dogs."  But she answered him, "Yes, Lord; yet even the dogs under the table eat the children's crumbs." And he said to her, "For this statement you may go your way; the demon has left your daughter."  And she went home and found the child lying in bed and the demon gone. - Mark 7:24‭-‬30 ESV

Rev. Travis Drake

The background

Jesus is in need of rest. He's been healing, interacting with the authorities, dealing with crowds and fame. So he leaves Israel to a region among gentiles. The religious officials of the day considered any contact with gentiles made people unclean. But Jesus goes there for an extended time, commonly considered unclean, to find rest. Jesus did not consider them subhuman, second class, or unworthy of notice. He did not consider it unsafe or a place where one had to be on guard. 

The nature of the conversation

Jesus had this conversation in the spirit of challenge. A challenge to enliven and build up, but still a challenge. He responds to this woman's request for healing with a challenge. He demands a response. Jesus is a good friend, but He is also God. So not only with Jesus be a comfort, but also a challenge to grow faith and confronting of sins.

How does Jesus do this? He says that children's bread should not go to dogs. Not big dogs, but little pet dogs. This conversation likely happened in a household. A family with children, pets, and relationships. So we need to look at this from the perspective of the family of God, Israel is the covenant family. "Let the children be fed first" is what Jesus said. Not that there was nothing for those outside of Israel. But that there was a process and a timing to Jesus and God's plan. The woman was being challenged to submit to God's plan. Would she do it even if it felt like being a pet dog at someone's table? The core question is this: is Jesus God or not?

The posture of faith

This woman's response is great humility and great faith. Her first words contain the word Lord. It is submitting to Jesus. It meant that even being a pet in the household of God was sufficient. This is the only place to eat there is no other bread, no other table. Even if it meant being treated like a pet, there were no alternatives. Jesus is the singular hope. He alone is the salvation and grace that we need. He knows that we are dust, we are broken, but he takes on our sins. He takes them up to the cross. He knows that the guilt of sin must be paid. The cross is where justice and mercy meet. 

For this woman's response, Jesus provides healing for her daughter. The simple response gets healing. But Jesus paid for salvation and restoration with a shameful public execution. She does not demand elevation from Him. She would rather be in Jesus' house than anywhere else. She trusts that Jesus can and will heal. The end of our efforts and power is the beginning of faith. The end is not too be perfect but to come to the perfect one. 

Application

1. Crumble into Jesus' arms. Bring your inability and weaknesses to Him. He is the only path to salvation.

2. Let Jesus challenge you in the areas where you are absolutely certain that you are right. Allow him to change your political parties, your friends, your finances, your habits with spending, phone, time...

Struggling to believe

Immediately he made his disciples get into the boat and go before him to the other side, to Bethsaida, while he dismissed the crowd. And after he had taken leave of them, he went up on the mountain to pray. And when evening came, the boat was out on the sea, and he was alone on the land. And he saw that they were making headway painfully, for the wind was against them. And about the fourth watch of the night he came to them, walking on the sea. He meant to pass by them, but when they saw him walking on the sea they thought it was a ghost, and cried out, for they all saw him and were terrified. But immediately he spoke to them and said, "Take heart; it is I. Do not be afraid."  And he got into the boat with them, and the wind ceased. And they were utterly astounded, for they did not understand about the loaves, but their hearts were hardened. When they had crossed over, they came to land at Gennesaret and moored to the shore. And when they got out of the boat, the people immediately recognized him and ran about the whole region and began to bring the sick people on their beds to wherever they heard he was. And wherever he came, in villages, cities, or countryside, they laid the sick in the marketplaces and implored him that they might touch even the fringe of his garment. And as many as touched it were made well. - Mark 6:45‭-‬56 ESV

Rev. Dwight Yoo

Leadership is very difficult during this time. Please pray for the pastors & elders. We've just started to come out of a pandemic and now civil turmoil over long-standing injustice.

Learn to withdraw

Jesus sends the disciples and crowds away. Then he goes and withdraws from everyone. Jesus had done these miracles and the crowds were getting their own ideas. They wanted to make him king by force. Jesus wanted follow God's will, to bring a heavenly kingdom by sacrifice. Jesus was interested in God's ends and God's means. So it is with us. We need to withdraw from the world to recenter on God. To not get caught up in purely human striving, but rather to work in God's strength. 

Learn to refocus/repent

The disciples were scared when they first saw Him. They thought Jesus was a ghost. A spirit of the night come to bring disaster. These disciples had seen so many of Jesus' miracles, not to mention the feeding of the crowd just earlier. Their hearts were hardened.. If this is the state of the disciples, then even moreso for us. We need to listen to God and the Spirit. We need to ask God to look within for our sinful ways and repent.

Look within

"Take heart, it is I do not be afraid. It is I." Jesus says. We are exhausted straining against the wind. But who has power over the wind? Who can can a storm with His word? Jesus comes to us in the midst of our struggle. He stepped into the boat. So it is with us. He took up our burden when he was on the cross. He took on the hostility and reconciled everyone to himself and each other.

"When it feels like nothing working, God is." - Lecrae